Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Catching up

For those few demented individuals who actually read this blog, I owe you an explanation for the lack of recent posts. Well, actually, I don't owe you anything, but you're getting one, anyway.

First, I've been busy professionally. I just finished writing a big-ass book about Google, and am starting two new books right on the heels of that. I've also been very busy with an online project that I can't mention at this time, but it's very time consuming in a lot of ways and a very big deal. You'll know more in a few weeks.

Personally, I've been spending a fair amount of time commuting between my home in Indianapolis and my girlfriend's home in Minneapolis. That's 600 miles each way; it's a good thing I like to drive, and a have a car that I like to drive. I try to keep as normal a schedule as I can while up there, but the traveling alone takes two days (one each, up and back) each trip. Then there's the whole bit about spending time with my girlfriend, either in person or on the phone, and the simple fact is that something has to give. Hence the lack of blog postings.

I'd like to promise to keep a better posting schedule, but the hell with that. I'll continue to post whenever I damned well feel like it, or whenever I'm particularly annoyed at something, whichever comes first. That's the only promise I'll make.

(I have, BTW, been keeping up on my reading, viewing, and listening. Make sure you take a look at the books, DVDs, and CDs listed to the right of these postings -- they're as up-to-date as anything.)

5 comments:

Joe Wikert said...

Hi Mike. Good to see you're back. I enjoy what you have to say, so please keep it up! Btw, what did you think of that C.S. Lewis book you read? Did you ever post about it?...

Michael Miller said...

Joe:

I found C.S. Lewis a good writer, but definitely writing for the converted. (The book is an apologetic, after all.) Some parts were more convincing than others.

I found it particuarly disappointing that Lewis tended to fall into the "if it isn't this, it must be that" logic trap -- that is, seeing only a duality when in fact there may be a third or fourth way to go. For example, there was the bit where Lewis said that Jesus, saying he was God, was either a lunatic or really God. There certainly are other options -- maybe he didn't really say what that passage said he said, or maybe he meant something totally different. The options of "God or lunatic" seem a bit extreme. I mean, if I say I'm God, does that make me either loony or a divine being? There are other options.

Like I said, it's a better text to read if you're already a Christian looking for more guidance or a better explanation of things, than it is if you're an agnostic looking to be convinced. That said, Lewis is a much better writer than most doing this sort of apologetic text.

But that's probably more than you wanted to hear, isn't it?

Joe Wikert said...

No, I was looking for details and I appreciate that you provided several. Have you ever read any of Philip Yancey's books? I could recommend one or two if you're interested.

Michael Miller said...

Never heard of Yancey. Details?

Joe Wikert said...

The first Yancey book I read is called "What's So Amazing About Grace." It was very good. Others that I liked include "The Bible Jesus Read", "Where is God When It Hurts" and "The Jesus I Never Knew." Do a search on his name on Amazon and you'll see all his books, of course.

FWIW, if you're looking to prove/disprove Christianity through all these books you're wasting your time. I'd even add the Bible to that list. Anyone can poke holes in any and every account of Christ, his existence, what he represented, etc. The bottom line is the entire picture hasn't been revealed to us here on earth, at least not as far as I'm concerned. At some point a believer has to accept this fact. Hey, that's why it's called "faith", right?! If it were all spelled out in black and white, totally bulletproof, it wouldn't require "faith" to believe...